A Tale of Two Students
Michael before tutoring support and Michael during tutoring support
Meet Mr. C...
First Session: Meet the Family
On Friday, Nov. 10th, I was looking forward to beginning my first session with Michael and his family who I had reached out to via email prior to our session to introduce myself (my way of establishing a relationship with a family). I was particularly happy the parents responded to my email, sharing they were not native to this country and were looking forward to the session.
A Rough Start: Michael’s Resistance
The session started with Michael trying to complete a goal setting/get-to-know-you activity as I had successfully done with many of my students. Immediately, I received resistance from Michael who responded to questions in a low volume or appeared to mouth the answers without any audible sound. After two initial sessions of accomplishing very little (aside from learning that Michael didn’t like school and was failing Math), he was able to complete just enough questions in the online learning and assessment platform we use, IXL, to create a Diagnostic Action Plan indicating this student needed everything from support in counting money to reading an analog clock to identifying prime numbers.
Small Steps Towards Confidence and Buy-in
Encouraged by Michael’s assessment that his overall Math ability was near or above grade level, I quickly adjusted my sessions with Michael by creating buy-in and confidence. These initial sessions started with simple skill lessons and mini quizzes, giving Michael some quick wins.
I also determined that Michael was full of unfocused energy during our initial sessions so I asked his parents if he could be in a room that enabled him to completely focus on the tutoring. While it’s generally OK to have parents of younger students within listening distance of tutoring sessions at times this can be distracting as the student may be concerned with his parent’s “approval” of how the student is communicating during the session. This proved to be very beneficial and helped Michael’s ability to focus.
Practice: Inspiration through Relevance
Something we established during the ‘get-to-know you’ exercise was that Michael’s favorite soccer player gets better with practice. He recognized the need for practice to become a better soccer player, and the concept of soccer practice was extended to Math practice, and the need for Math practice to become a better Math student. This resonated with Michael, and he is now “sold” on the need for continuous practice in Math.
Hard Work, Success, Confidence Boost
Since mid-November, Michael has now completed over 22 hours of tutoring sessions in Math, and, more importantly, has completed nearly 12 hours of practice, completing 42 skills and 681 questions! As of this writing, Michael has progressed by more than two grades – from an F to a C+, and he is aiming for more progress! We are so proud of what he has accomplished through buy-in, creating confidence, and consistent practice.
Families and tutors, rest assured that if we stay consistent and steadfast in our resolve for student success it will happen! Thank you for your collaboration with Proficiency Builders/College Tutors of Indiana.
